Can this be DIY'd? Curved bookcase

daivid

-taff said:

I'm not so sure that that is actually attached tp a backing board, I think it might just have been shaped and inserted and held in place by tension.

I agree. If made well it would be plenty strong enough. It could be bonded to the board but I,m sure it would be self supporting.

NewShadow

-taff said:

I'm not so sure that that is actually attached tp a backing board, I think it might just have been shaped and inserted and held in place by tension.

Huh... would need to be careful about lateral movement then I guess. Not sure I'd be happy long term without some form of fixing - I'm a belt and braces kind of girl. 

Thanks all - I'm not going to be able to play around until I have actually moved, but experimenting with a couple of different methods for this will break up the boredom of sanding 33m2 of flooring... 

Doozergirl

That's beautiful.  Good Pinteresting!  

I have been pinning furiously myself.  Off to finalise our new kitchen this morning.   Something for me, finally!  

daivid

NewShadow said:

-taff said:

I'm not so sure that that is actually attached tp a backing board, I think it might just have been shaped and inserted and held in place by tension.

Huh... would need to be careful about lateral movement then I guess. Not sure I'd be happy long term without some form of fixing - I'm a belt and braces kind of girl.

A bead of gripfix (other brands available) round the joins should more than surfice, and would stop things falling through between the backing and the shelving.

As to strenth and construction I made two 'wobble board' toys a few months back. 
 They are 120cm by 30cm, made of 5 layers of 5mm ply (think it was 5mm) and can hold 80kg easily (me standing on the middle of a 'bridge' or one foot either end of the rocker). I cut all the strips by hand but bought a decent belt sander to do the finishing. A table or track saw would have really sped things up but I couldn't justify the expense at the time.

NewShadow

daivid said:

NewShadow said:

-taff said:

I'm not so sure that that is actually attached tp a backing board, I think it might just have been shaped and inserted and held in place by tension.

Huh... would need to be careful about lateral movement then I guess. Not sure I'd be happy long term without some form of fixing - I'm a belt and braces kind of girl.

A bead of gripfix (other brands available) round the joins should more than surfice, and would stop things falling through between the backing and the shelving.

As to strenth and construction I made two 'wobble board' toys a few months back. 
 They are 120cm by 30cm, made of 5 layers of 5mm ply (think it was 5mm) and can hold 80kg easily (me standing on the middle of a 'bridge' or one foot either end of the rocker). I cut all the strips by hand but bought a decent belt sander to do the finishing. A table or track saw would have really sped things up but I couldn't justify the expense at the time.

Thanks - I definitely think laminating will be the way to go.

I think the bulk of my experimenting will be to figure how tight I can make the curve without splitting the boards - I like the above, but I think the beauty is in the symmetry rather than the specific dimensions... should be a fun project  

MovingForwards

You can buy curved MDF, it's had cuts put in to make the bend.

Searching also led me to Pinterest and I don't know whether to thank you or dislike you, my purse is swaying towards dislike!

Jackmydad

daivid said:

NewShadow said:

-taff said:

I'm not so sure that that is actually attached tp a backing board, I think it might just have been shaped and inserted and held in place by tension.

Huh... would need to be careful about lateral movement then I guess. Not sure I'd be happy long term without some form of fixing - I'm a belt and braces kind of girl.

A bead of gripfix (other brands available) round the joins should more than surfice, and would stop things falling through between the backing and the shelving.

As to strenth and construction I made two 'wobble board' toys a few months back. 
 They are 120cm by 30cm, made of 5 layers of 5mm ply (think it was 5mm) and can hold 80kg easily (me standing on the middle of a 'bridge' or one foot either end of the rocker). I cut all the strips by hand but bought a decent belt sander to do the finishing. A table or track saw would have really sped things up but I couldn't justify the expense at the time.

This is the strongest way to do it. You don't steam bend ply, it would come apart, when I've made laminated curved pieces I've cut my own laminates, but you can buy structural veneers.
As already said, you'll need the tools and the skills to make the formers for the piece, and somewhere with a bench to do the work.
Another idea that occurs to me is to get the pieces 3D printed.
No idea of the cost though.
Yet another idea would be that the pieces are repurposed from one of those upside U shaped tables.
As said you can get sheet materials which will bend. The technical term to the cuts on some is "kerfing" and that can be achieved on a circualar saw table. It tends to leave "flats" on the outer curve though. I've seen curves done that way which had contrasting timber "wedges" in the cuts when closed at one side by the bending. 

NewShadow

MovingForwards said:

You can buy curved MDF, it's had cuts put in to make the bend.

Searching also led me to Pinterest and I don't know whether to thank you or dislike you, my purse is swaying towards dislike!

🤣🤣 

My biggest frustration with Pinterest has been that there's lots of amazing stuff but it's either old links, only the image, or American! 

If I could buy the above - at a 'reasonable' price - it's not like I wouldn't consider it... but I'm going to have fun playing I think. 

Jackmydad

Anyone who is interested in bending wood, could do worse than to look for a copy of 
"Solid and Laminated Wood Bending" by W. C. Stevens and N. Turner 
It's an old book from 1948, but it's excellent. 
Based on research by the Forest Products Research Laboratory, and originally published by HMSO.

MovingForwards

NewShadow said:

MovingForwards said:

You can buy curved MDF, it's had cuts put in to make the bend.

Searching also led me to Pinterest and I don't know whether to thank you or dislike you, my purse is swaying towards dislike!

🤣🤣 

My biggest frustration with Pinterest has been that there's lots of amazing stuff but it's either old links, only the image, or American! 

If I could buy the above - at a 'reasonable' price - it's not like I wouldn't consider it... but I'm going to have fun playing I think. 

I dare not go back in for another look 🙈

There are plenty of YouTube videos saying how to bend wood, not all have the roller / bendy machine and it would be fun, doing it yourself and seeing the end result in your home.

You do know we will want to see it when it's done 😁